FOOTHILLS ELEMENTARY NAMED 2020 NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL

Maryville, TN -    At 1:00 P.M. today, September 24, 2020, U.S Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the names of all schools selected as 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools.  Maryville City Schools is thrilled to announce that Foothills Elementary School was on that list.  Only schools demonstrating the highest academic achievement in the nation are considered for this honor.  Foothills Elementary will be receiving the award for a second time – with the school’s first honor coming in 2014.

Administrators in the school and district have been providing data and programming details to the Department of Education, after learning the school was being considered.  The vetting process takes months and is closely scrutinized by program officials.  The National Blue Ribbon Schools program has been recognizing academic excellence in America’s schools for 37 years.  Schools are named in two categories for this award: Exemplary High Performing Schools and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools.  Foothills was named in the High Performing category.

“It this such a wonderful honor for our whole school family,” said Principal Karen Schito, “and couldn’t come at a better time.  We need positive encouragement to get through the pandemic-related challenges we face each day and this award will go a long way to boost our courage and resolve.  Receiving national recognition as a top-performing school is good for student and staff morale, good for the community, and especially good for students who will benefit for the rest of their academic careers. ”

In remarks issued by Dr. Mike Winstead, Director of Maryville Schools, he said, “The designation of National Blue Ribbon School has long been a valued recognition of the excellence one can expect at a school.  We know this community values excellence and this award is another way to measure our ongoing success.  It will be exciting over the next few weeks to celebrate this honor with our stakeholders.”  He went on to congratulate all the teachers, staff, parents, and students at the school and offer his best wishes for continued success.

Today’s announcement appeared live on the following platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/ED.gov/

https://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov

https://twitter.com/NatlBlueRibbon

https://twitter.com/usedgov

https://www.facebook.com/nationalblueribbonschools

Foothills is a public elementary school serving students in grades K-3 and one of three elementary schools in the Maryville City Schools district.  The school is located at 520 Sandy Springs Road in Maryville and currently has an enrollment of 631 students.  Karen Schito moved to Maryville in 2017 to become principal at Foothills where she and assistant principal Rob Hensley are honored to serve today.

# # #

CONTACTS:

Maryville City Schools

Director of Schools           Dr. Mike Winstead       865-982-7121

Communications              Sharon Anglim           
sharon.anglim@maryville-schools.org

Principal                            Karen Schito                865-681-0364          karen.schito@maryville-schools.org 

Asst. Principal                   Rob Hensley                 865-681-0364

National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

Director                  Aba Kumi                      202-401-1767          aba.kumi@ed.gov